A NEW floating hotel themed on the tragic liner Titanic in her death throes after hitting an iceberg, has been slammed as “beyond bad taste”.

Due to open next week, the 10-bed static floating hotel in Salthouse Dock, visible from the Strand, has “Titanic Liverpool” emblazoned on the up-lifted stern and three propellers clear of the water.

The floating hotel also has downward slanting lines of port holes to give the impression of plunging to the bottom of the Atlantic.

There’s even a jagged finish to the edge of the cabin’s bow end to replicate the liner having snapped in half on sinking.

Pat Moran, chairman of Liverpool Retired Merchant Navy Seafarers association, said: “The idea of a Titanic- themed hotel in the ship’s centenary year is actually not even bad taste, it’s just bad.”

John Wilson, chief executive of Liverpool Seafarers’ Centre, Crosby, added: “This is in very poor taste, especially for those still actively involved in seafaring, the huge retired community of Merseyside seafarers and relatives of those lost on Titanic.”

The vessel is topped off with just two black and buff funnels instead of the real ship’s four stacks, to further emphasise the doomed original’s damaged state.

An advertising board alongside describes it as “The Titanic Sinking Boutique Hotel” and boasts the “themed apartment hotel” has “state of the art bedrooms and luxury ballroom” with an “AA five star rating”.

The Titanic Hotel, moored by the Albert Dock complex, is the brainchild of Liverpool business man Alfie Bubbles, 53, who also owns Hollywood Limousines.

He already has a successful two boat hotel fleet comprising the FAB4 Beatles Yellow Submarine Hotel and The Joker, themed on the Batman villain.

Mr Moran, a former seaman with Blue Funnel Line and a leading local historian, said: “This is an appalling exercise in somebody trying to copy Disney when the reality is more than 1,500 innocent people died horribly on Titanic.

“We have this floating hotel as a memorial within sight of the White Star Line Building where the actual ship was conceived and owned and has shamefully been allowed to fall into disrepair.

“Also the hotel is within half a mile of the Pier Head’s Titanic Memorial and there are still many descendants in this area of Titanic’s crew who I’m sure will resent this.

“The problem is that the Titanic story has become fiction. People don’t believe it’s true any more. It’s like a Greek tragedy.”

Mr Wilson added: “The Titanic disaster was devastating at the time and why should it be remembered this way? A replica of Titanic would be just about permiss- able, but to theme the ship in sinking state really crosses the line of acceptability.”

Cancelling an interview with the ECHO, Mr Bubbles said: “I’ve been told by my public relations company not to comment on this.”

He also plans to open Pirates of the Caribbean Black Pearl hotel boat in summer.